Pwedeng gamitin ang visit visa as the start date to apply for ILR.

There was a case of  R (Mungur) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWCA Civ 1076 (15 July 2021).The Court of Appeal has ruled that, with regard to the crucial issue of indefinite leave to remain (ILR) based on ten years of continuous residence, the SSHD erred in rejecting Mr. Chandra Mungur’s ILR application. This is because it was not possible to establish that Mr. Mungur “left the United Kingdom in circumstances in which he had no reasonable expectation at the time of leaving that he would lawfully be able to return” during the time period that was used to support his 10 years of continuous residence. Even though Mr. Mungur’s visit visa had expired in 2001, he had left the country knowing that he would be able to return legally as soon as possible on a student visa. Mr. Mungur had acquired a visitor’s visa, which was good from March 22, 2001, through September 22, 2001. On April 16, 2001, he travelled to the United Kingdom, and then on September 1, 2001, he departed “to return to Mauritius to apply for Entry Clearance as a student”. The application was accepted on September 25, 2001, and it remained in effect until September 25, 2003. He re-entered the UK on October 5, 2001, and through a series of applications, he was given permission to stay longer—first as a student, then as a work visa holder. He was in the UK lawfully until September 25, 2003, and stayed until July 13, 2011. When his leave of absence expired on July 13, 2011, he stayed an extra 1,947 days, ending on February 10, 2016.

The Court of Appeal agreed and observed that in addition, the SSHD accepted that time spent in the UK with the benefit of a visit visa counts as “residence” under the rules, including for the purposes of calculating continuous residence.

If this is accepted by the Home Office, you can apply after 10 years from the date of you entering the UK as a visitor.

INSTRUCT ME

If you want to instruct me, my name is Atty. Lindoven Magsino, BSc, MBA, GDL, LLM, DBA (candidate), a qualified Solicitor in the UK. Mobile: 07446 888 377. Email: don@mbmsolicitors.com or attydonmagsino@gmail.com